This archive report was first published on 23 August 2019.
On August 18, 2019, the public was informed of a tax waiver granted to Commercial Bank of Africa (CBA) and NIC Bank on July 26, 2019, in a move that has sparked a legal battle.
Activist Okiya Omtatah has filed a lawsuit against the Treasury Cabinet Secretary and the Attorney General, claiming that the tax waiver process was done secretly and that due process was not followed.
He argues that the tax waiver, which is estimated to result in a loss of Sh350 million in tax revenues, was granted without sufficient public participation.
According to the filed case documents, Mr. Omtatah claims that the legal notice granting the tax waiver has not been published in the Kenya Gazette, as required by law.
He also alleges that there is no existing evidence to show that the said legal notice was published, and that he was unable to find it at the Government Printer's bookshop in Nairobi.
Mr. Omtatah is seeking to have the decision to exempt the instruments executed in respect of the transactions relating to the merger declared unlawful and the disputed July 26 legal notice on tax waiver quashed.
On May 2019, the Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) approved the proposed merger between the two companies, stating that the resultant merged entity would still face competition from tier I banks.
